Dazz
by comisure
Summary: Five years after the Delta Episode Hoenn changed, Dazz Upol from Mossdeep city will soon find out after setting out for his journey. He'll meet a masked man who wants to spread caos, as well as the Hoenn champions. Dazz's going to change, and the world will change with him. OC, post OR/AS
1. Challenge

**_-CHALLENGE-_**

What happened in the Hoenn region five years ago made news everywhere in the World.

The legendaries Groudon and Kyogre, after being reawakened by two organizations, created havoc all over the region, endangering the lives of thousands of people.

However, thank to a talented kid named Brendan, this story became history, and Hoenn quickly got back to its peaceful days. In fact, nothing really important ever happened in this region beside the "Weather Crisis", as media later renamed it. The only things making the place a bit livelier were the contests and the annual Pokemon League Challenge. Especially the latter, after the crisis started to attract a lot of new challengers.

One of these challengers, Dazz Upol, who spent all of his sixteen years living in Mossdeep city, decided to take on the Pokemon League Challenge exactly five years after Groudon and Kyogre got back to their slumber. Of course, challenging Tate and Liza first.

Dazz was 16, quite tall with aquamarine short hair and green eyes, he was the kind of guy to never give up on an idea once he thought about it. Also, he never seemed to be tired, he always wanted to do something funny or exciting. He actually wasn't interested in pokemon battles till some months ago. At first he just wanted to travel the region, so he started to train Pecha (his Spheal) to show his parents he could travel by himself. He started to enjoy fighting later.

He wasn't going to fight Tate and Liza alone though. He asked his friend Ann that he knew since he was born to help him. Unlike Dazz, she was quite shy and didn't talk much outside his family and close friends.

She was 15, shorter than Dazz and had got long caramel hair and brown chocolate eyes. She was considered a cute girl and sometimes gorgeous. Almost every boy that met her tried to get a date with her. Every time, she used to say she had homework to do or she had to help her parents at work, she was too shy to date with someone. However, Dazz never really cared about "love stuff", as he defined it, and they got along pretty well. She was training as well to help Dazz with the gym challenge, she declared firmly though, that this was her first and last battle.

That morning, both the kids decided to train one last time before going to the gym.

Ann was the first one to wake up. She had a shower, dressed herself and went downstairs where her mother was waiting for her. When she got in the kitchen she looked with awe at the table, there was so much sugar in the breakfast that no one could ever think of eating sweets again.

"This is an exception, got it?" Ann's mother told her pointing at her with a spoon that the girl readily grabbed, and with a quick "Thanks mom!" she literally threw herself on the table.

"You and Dazz are getting along pretty well lately."

Ann stopped eating when she noticed what her mom was trying to do, and with her mouth still half-full she replied

"Mom it's not like you think!" the woman giggled but didn't respond.

Not long after, Ann was heading to her friend's house, she could swear she saw a skarmory flying along the way.

She knocked on the door twice and after some seconds a messy Dazz came out still rubbing his eyes.

"Hey Ann." he said and yawned afterward.

"Y-You just woke up?" Ann asked shocked.

"Uhm, yes. What's wrong with it?" Ann couldn't keep herself any longer and slapped him.

"You made me wake up three hours ago! Did you forget what you planned to do today?!"

"Oh! Ouch... I'm sorry I remember now. Am I forgiven?" another slap followed the first but with more power.

Ten minutes later Dazz was ready outside his house with his spheal happily standing by him.

"I think Steven is back, maybe we can go and ask him for advices?" Ann said to his friend

"Yes, it's been quite sometimes since we've seen him."

So Ann found herself knocking at another door that day. This time the owner of the house was Steven Stone, the former Hoenn champion. He was around his thirties but looked younger.

At the sight of the man, the two teens made a smile of joy.

"Steven! Where have you been all this time?" Dazz said first and the man smiled.

"After I've been defeated I decided to travel a bit to see the world and decide what to do next. And I'm here again!"

"Will you be the champion again?" The girl asked

"No, I think I'll rest a bit. I'll be a researcher for my dad at Devon."

"Oh..."

"So, how are you two doing? Want to come in?"

"We can't." Dazz said. "Actually, we were going to challenge the gym and came to ask for advices."

"Ah, so you want to take the League challenge? Well, I'll give you some tips after I see you both battle."

"Fine, Ann you ready?"

"Whenever you are!" she responded and threw a pokeball in the sky. A marill came out of it. The marill's name was Lucky. On Dazz's side was Pecha the Spheal ready to fight.

"Lucky _Play Rough_." she ordered.

"_Hail_!" Dazz commanded from the other side. Pecha rolled on her left side making the attacking Marill trip over and right after, created artificial clouds that started spawning ice blocks.

Ann gritted her teeth.

"_Surf_!" Marill acted as ordered but the water attack didn't deal much damage.

"Damn, Lucky _Body Slam_!" this time Lucky hit hard and Pecha panted for the effort made trying to survive.

"Don't worry Pecha we've got this, _Blizzard_." thanks to _Hail_ it couldn't be missed and hit hard. Another attack would have be the end of the battle for Lucky and Ann.

"Lucky we can do it, come on! _Play Rough_!"

"Pecha _Blizzard _again!"

"Lucky stop! Use _Protect,_ after the attack they won't be able to defend from your _Play Rough_."

The marill stopped mid-track and formed a trasparent glass-like wall that covered him completely from the cold wind. As predicted by Ann, Pecha was gasping for air and was an easy target now.

Lucky started to run toward his enemy but fell before he could reach the spheal.

"Lucky what are you doing! Finish your opponent!" Ann shouted but her pokèmon didn't hear or just ignored her. A sounds of clapping came from behind.

"That was a nice battle, but looks like Dazz won." Steven said, Ann was shocked.

"But, how? _Protect _is supposed to wall any kind of attack!" Ann stuttered and Dazz grinned. He got closer to Ann and patted her on her shoulder.

"You forgot about _Hail_, your marill was exposed to it during all the fight, I think it tired him a lot." Dazz proudly explained his strategy. Ann snorted and lightly pushed the hand of his friend away.

"Ahahah Ann you fought well too, there's no need to be angry. After all, you and Dazz are going to fight in the same team against Tate and Liza. Speaking of which, I think Ann doesn't have good accuracy, while Dazz can't defend very well. But since you too are going to fight together your pokémons may be able to compensate what the other lacks." Steven concluded.

"Thanks Steven, we should go now, I want to win and have enough time to have a party!" Small laughs came from both Steven and the two teens, Steven reminded him to never underestimate his opponent but it was more of a joke than an advice. Dazz and Ann then left for the pokémon centre.

* * *

><p>"Hey Ann, look at that person." Dazz said pointing at some weird looking man near the pokémon Mart.<p>

It was just a bit higher than him and everything that he was wearing was pitch black: black boots, black gloves, black trousers and a black coat. He even had a black mantle! But the most weird thing was the mask he had on.

It didn't have eyes nor mouth or nose, it was just white covering all of the man face and contrasting with his clothes. It was impossible to see even the smallest part of his body behind those weird looking clothes, he seemed like he was drawn to be the character of some superhero comic.

"Wow that's weird! How do you think he can see through that mask?" The man turned to face them (though it was hard to know where he was looking) and they both shivered, then he left going south.

"Creepy... do you think it was a ghost?" Ann asked her friend. He lost himself in thought for a while.

"Didn't you recognize him? He's the man the TV talked about for days, he looks for little kids and take them in his secret place. No one ever see them again. Sometime he likes to take older girls too..."

"Stop it! I know you're just doing it to scare me! He's just some random cosplayer ok?!" She pushed him and started walking to the gym. She was trying to be brave but actually got scared. Dazz ran to her apologizing, even if he couldn't keep himself from laughing which earned him a loud slap.

* * *

><p>They were both facing the entrance of the Mossdeep City gym, both a bit nervous.<p>

"Shall we go?" Dazz asked, not really waiting for an answer.

They entered the gym. There was no one but the two leaders and a couple trainers cleaning around.

"Looks like you're the first ones today, we've just opened." the two leaders said at the same time.

Ann shivered, she would have used the word _creepy_ here but kept herself from talking. However Dazz seemed unaffected.

"Yes! And we won't leave without a badge!" Dazz shouted, swinging his punch to the sky in a dramatic way that caused Ann to chuckle.

"Well, that's what we're here for anyway." Ann commented.

"Oh I'll be the referee this time!" a boy that was cleaning ran to the leaders, Liza grunted and nodded to the boy.

Dazz and Ann on one side and Tate and Liza on the other, they both took place, ready to fight with a pokéball in their hand.

"This is an official Pokémon League match, although with a small difference. This will be a double battle, two on two, no substitutions and no healing items. If you agree with the rules we may start." the challengers nodded and took a fight stance

"THROW YOUR POKEBALL!" and with that the four battlers sent their pokémon: a spheal, a marill, a Lunatone and a Solrock.

"_Cosmic Power_!" the leaders shouted in unison and their pokémon stored energy shining a white light.

"OK! Pecha, _Hail_!" Dazz followed right after.

"Lucky we need to defend from hail, _Defense Curl_ is the move you need to use." The spheal created clouds of _ Hail_ while the marill curled himself to raise his defense. The psychic duo then decided to attack,

"_Psychic_!" Lunatone and Solrock attacked respectively marill and spheal that couldn't defend properly and got hurt. They were going to attack again and Ann commanded Lucky to use _Protect_, Dazz took the chance and used _Blizzard_, it did some damage but also got hit by another _Psychic_.

Then they switched and while Pecha defended Lucky used Surf. Lucky too was hit but couldn't handle as well as his partner, another attack and he would have fainted.

"The hail and the fight got Lucky quite hurt, he won't resist much longer Dazz." Ann said

"Ok, I have a plan but you have to trust me. When they're going to use psychic hit the one who's going to attack my pokèmon with the strongest attack you've got. You'll be my defense and I'll be your attack like Steven said!"

"But Lucky's going to faint if he does!"

"Don't worry, what matter is that just one of our pokémon stand at the end. They're going to attack! Please Ann trust me!"

"Ok, Lucky give it all you've got, _Body Slam_ on Lunatone!" and so he did stopping him from attacking the spheal, though the recoil together with the _Psychic_ coming from Solrock made him faint. The referee got to the pokémon and announced that it was unable to battle, so Ann recalled him.

"Now _Blizzard_!" the attack struck in the two foes knocking down Lunatone that was the most injured. Liza also recalled her pokémon.

"Now you have no energies left! _Rock Throw_!" Tate declared

"Pecha dodge!" Several rocks were haunting the ice seal around, pushed only by Solrock mind power. The was actually able to dodge several times but she was starting to grow tired.

It kept going for almost a minute with both trainers silently praying for victory, but at the end, the rocks fell on the ground and Solrock followed them right after. Not much later the artificial hail stopped.

"I see we underestimated _Hail_, while my pokémon was chasing yours I didn't think you could attack. You attacked and defended at the same time, very good." Tate thought out loud.

Dazz and Ann were still exhausted by the fight and were just starting to understand what has happened. Then, Liza stepped in their direction.

"Challenger Dazz, challenger Ann, this is the Mind Badge we award you with. I hope you will keep collecting badges and aim to become the champion." she gave the two challengers their badges and praised their performance one last time before going healing their pokémon with her brother. Meanwhile, they left for the pokémon centre.

* * *

><p>"We did it Ann!" Dazz was overjoyed, winning against Tate and Liza meant that his parents would have let him travel the Hoenn region alone. Unlike him, Ann didn't seem very happy.<p>

"Yeah... so you will leave now right?" Ann asked her friend a bit insecure.

Of course he forgot how would she feel. He could make friends with anyone in a second but she was really timid, he was her only true friend on this city.

"H-Hey you knew I was going to leave right? You can't act like this right now, we've already talked about it..."

"No. You're right. I hope to hear news about you being the new champion. Good luck and see you." she started to walk in a random direction pretending she had to go somewhere. She could hear Dazz calling for her but ignored him, instead she forced back some tears and kept walking. After some minutes she found herself again in front of the gym and couldn't help but feel angry at herself for helping his friend leave her forever.

Her trail of thoughts soon stopped because a man with a black mantle and a white mask entered the gym just few meters from her. She was still quite curious about that person so she followed him in the building trying not to be noticed.

She hid behind a rhydon statue near the door and watched the scene.

The man went in the middle of the room, the boy that acted as a referee earlier noticed him.

"Oh, are you a challenger? Tate and Liza went healing their pokémon you'll have to wait a minute..." he told him, but the person ignored him. He took a pokéball from his coat and released a gyarados from it. With a slow but firm gesture, he raised a hand. For the first time Ann, no, anyone, heard his voice.

"_Outrage."_

It was like time had stopped. Everyone in the gym paused what they were doing to focus on that man, and his voice. It was a robotic voice, without shape nor accent.

Ann's eyes widened in fear and horror at what was going to happen.

"He can,t-"

her thoughts were broken by the sudden power outburst that came from the gyarados.

It was raging, attacking everything in sight, quickly destroying the gym walls and floor. All the gym trainers were running from a wall to another trying to not be killed.

Behind the statue (that didn't fall even with Gyarados' rampage) Ann shivered. She wanted to leave and run but also needed to know what was going to happen next. So, she sent her marill looking for help. And crouched hoping that no one could see her.

At this point Tate and Liza came out followed by their pokémon.

* * *

><p>Dazz was heading to Steven's house, he had looked for Ann but couldn't find her.<p>

He couldn't stand seeing Ann sad, he deeply cared for her. But he couldn't cancel his travel, he was waiting for it since he could remember.

He decided that the moment he found her, he would have asked her to go with him. He was sure she would have accepted. With a smile he increased his pace but slowed down soon after.

BOOM!

His smile faded and turned in the direction of the gym from which he had heard a loud thump.

There were several boys that Dazz could recognize as trainers of the gym running away from the building.

His eyes widened seeing that Lucky was running in his direction as well but Ann was nowhere to see.

The marill was trying to say something, that was for sure, but Dazz couldn't understand. The pokèmon then turned and ran again toward the gym, Dazz came to the conclusion that Ann was there and followed her pokémon. He started to grow more and more worried the closer he got to the place.

* * *

><p>Gyarados got confused due to fatigue but its trainer threw it a berry and the water dragon recovered in a moment.<p>

"What are you doing? What do you want?!" Liza screamed in rage while her brother gritted his teeth. Even their pokémon were anxiously waiting for a command to attack.

"_I came here to take the Green Orb, you'll either give it to me or I'll destroy this place and I'll take it myself."_

"What are you talking about? You're in the wrong place! Solrock, _Psychic_!" Tate shouted.

The man released a Mime Jr.

"_Light Screen."_ the pokèmon created a barrier that covered himself, his trainer and the gyarados, stopping entirely the leader's attack.

"_Now scan their mind and look for the green orb."_ Mime Jr. closed its eyes and shone for a second, then it opened them again and looked at its trainer.

"_A mind block, should have expected it. Scan the trainers' minds." _The pokémon acted as he did before and again looked at his trainer but with a confident smile.

"_Red Orb, Blue Orb, but no Green Orb. Maybe you told the truth, or maybe it's a secret even to your men. I can't ignore this possibility: Gyarados, Dragone Pulse!"_

Tate and Liza were ready to fight, but their pokémon weren't fully recovered yet.

Following the order of their trainers, Lunatone and Solrock sticked one to another and coordinated their attack like they were the same pokémon. They used _Cosmic Power_ to face the_ Dragon Pulse_ and then attacked with _Rock Slide_. The Gyarados roared in pain but stood up again and with a _Aqua Tail _ knocked down its opponents.

The two gym leaders were now realizing that there was no one to face that Gyarados now, their trainers weren't strong enough and Lunatone and Solrock were exhausted by the earlier fights.

"_Now you'll either give me what I want or I'll destroy this place." _His Robotic voice echoed between the walls of the gym.

A marill entered the door running and stopped panting near Ann, Dazz followed him after a moment.

"**DAZZ!**" Ann exclaimed. Now all the eyes were pointed at Ann and Dazz.

"RUN! CALL SOMEBODY, LOOK FOR HELP!" she didn't care anymore if they noticed her at this point. Dazz was very confused right now and he didn't have enough time to understand and run.

"_Don't let him run" _The man said and his Mime Jr.'s eyes became bright for a second, then, the doors closed shut thanks to Jr. Psychic energy. Dazz tried to open them with all of his strenght but they didn't move.

"Who are you?!" Dazz shouted at the man.

"_I don't have a name, but I suppose you can just call me Nil"_

"What should that mean? Are you crazy or something? And what's with all this mess? Someone would like to explain me what's happening?!"

"_I came to take something but people here won't cooperate, so I had to be more persuasive."_

"D-Dazz I'm scared, I-I just want to gome home. Please do something!" Ann said sobbing in the corner. Dazz now turned to the man. There was rage in his eyes like he felt that emotion for the first time in his life. He couldn't stand it.

"STOP IT NOW! You're hurting people can't you see? What you are doing is _**WRONG!**_"

The man turned to face Dazz directly. Even without eyes he knew that he was staring directly at him, piercing his soul. The boy flinched but recovered instantly.

"_Wrong? You think you can decide what's right and what's wrong? You think you can act like a god? I'll show you how wrong you are!"_

For the first time it looked like his voice changed tone, even if slightly.

Every muscle Dazz had flexed and his hand reached for a pokéball in his pocket.

"PECHA COME OUT! Let's show him what we're made of, _Hail_!" The trainer commanded

"_You think it'll work twice? Rain Dance." _

The hail couldn't even start that the rain suppressed it. _"Now Aqua Tail." _

"Twice?! How can you?" Gyarados hit the spheal that flew against the wall. Tate and Liza, Ann, the gym trainers, were all watching the battle in horror.

"Damn this won't work, _Body Slam_."

"_Bounce." _Pecha charged but Gyarados made a jump before she could hit it and before the seal could realize what happened, it fell back hitting her.

Dazz cursed to himself. Suddenly an idea made him calm down.

"Pecha, let them hit first this time, trust me!" She was still panting and trying to regain her breath but nodded without esitation.

"_Outrage." _Dazz silently prayed that Pecha could resist the attack.

It hit as hard as he could and the spheal fell down.

"_Avalanche_!" Pecha raised her head and threw a huge amount of snow and ice at the opponent burying it.

"We did it Pecha!" And they really thought so but unfortunately, the pokémon could stand again with some effort and was getting ready to attack once more. Unlike it, Pecha was barely awake and on the verge of fainting.

"Damn... I talked too soon." Dazz tightened his hands in punches wondering what could he do at this point.

"_Yours is surely a brave pokémon, and so are you. I didn't think you would try a new strategy but you surprised me. It would have worked but you're still too weak, what a pity."_

"Wait, Did you watch our Gym battle?" A loud crash interrupted their conversation.

A skarmory flew through the window and shot a purple sticky matter at gyarados.

"_What?!"_ the man said with his metallic voice.

"That was toxic, but maybe you already know that. Your pokémon is already tired, how long will it last?" Steven said opening the main door glaring at him. Steven's name could be heard multiple times, people were regaining their hope now.

"_The former Hoenn champion. I stand no chance right now, especially with only five pokémon."_ He recalled Gyarados and released a salamence on which he hopped on.

"_I guess we'll meet again"_ he said to the grey haired trainer and then left flying away with his dragon.

Dazz took a deep breath and sat on the ground exhausted. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Steven how could you know what was going on?" Ann asked. She had stopped crying and it looked like she's never been worried to start with.

"A trainer that was able to run away informed me. Plus, it wasn't easy to ignore the noise coming from this place." He told her. Even if they had just won he was quite worried by what had happened.

"I guess whoever he was, will attack again, probably other gyms. It's a bad thing we couldn't see his face nor hear his true voice but I'll be sure to to report this. In a day or two, the best trainers in Hoenn will be looking for him." He assured them and smiled. Tate reached him.

"Thanks Steven, you pulled us out of trouble."

"And also thanks to you Dazz, you could keep him occupied until Steven came. I'm sure you'll become a strong trainer." Liza added

"Now if you excuse us, we're going to tell the city that we're not in danger." With that, both Tate and Liza left. Their trainers soon followed them leaving just Steven, Dazz and Ann in the gym.

"A spheal that fight against a strong gyarados as that isn't something that happen every day, she's a though one! Well, I should go now, I'll see you around." the steel trainer left as well. Ann faced Dazz and smiled.

"You know, Pecha really trusted you back then, that's why she survived the attack. I mean you two've got really a strong bond, I think you may have a chance at becoming a good trainer."

Dazz looked at Pecha and stroked her fur, she was feeling really proud. The boy suddenly remembered something and turned back to Ann.

"Oh hey, i've been thinking, and I wondered if you'd like to travel with me through Hoenn. It can be fun." Dazz asked. Ann couldn't believe it. Travelling Hoenn... plus, she wouldn't have to be alone in that island anymore.

"You really want me to come with you?" He nodded.

"Of course I do! So, what's your answer?" She beamed and hugged him. "Of course I will!"

"Ok! It's all settled, on Monday, we leave!"

They went to their respective house to reassure their parents and also tell their plans. They went to sleep early that night, they both were tired by fights, fear and emotions. Still Dazz, was quite excited. He could finally travel by itself and discover the world. He couldn't even imagine back then, but that day, the most exciting part of his life had just began.

* * *

><p>Steven was at home, he had just come back from a journey that lasted five years and there was already a problem to solve. An evil man to stop, a catastrophe to avoid... everything all over again. He wondered if his region will ever be at peace.<p>

He picked up his old pokénav and dialed a number.

"Yes? Steven? How long! How are you?" the owner of the voice on the other side seemed young and quite happy.

"Five year since last time we've seen each other, it's almost time for a reunion! But I called you because I need your help. I know you're always wandering around so you may as well help me look for a person. But I'll tell you everything you need to know when we meet. Is Tuesday okay for you?"

"Tuesday? I don't know I mean, May's contest's that day..."

"Oh don't worry it'll take just 15 minutes."

"Ok fine, Let's meet at Lilycove's Contest Hall then."

"Yes, see you on Tuesday Brendan."


	2. Rivals

_** -RIVALS-**_

Lilycove is really huge.

That's what a girl around eighteen was thinking looking at a photo. Said photo was hanging on a wall in Mossdeep Ferry Agency. The girl had just bought a ticket to finally reach Hoenn mainland. Not that she didn't like Mossdeep, but islands made her feel uneasy, like in a cage.

She had long black hair tied in a ponytail and ice-like eyes, wore a black jacket, a knee-length red skirt and black boots.

She leaned back in her chair and looked at the clock on her PokéNav plus that she had recently bought. It was still too early. Too bad she left the hotel at eight but she couldn't sleep any longer.

"Sorry, what time does the ferry leave again?"

She asked to the woman at the counter for the third time. The woman sighed.

"I think I've told you already, the ferry won't leave before 6 pm. Now please, there are eight hours more to wait, can you _**Please**_ go out and do something? Or do you really want to sit there for eight hours?! For Arceus' sake, leave and enjoy being alive!"

The girl stood up. Without replying to the clerk she went to the door and left, a bit pissed off. The woman sighed in relief.

"Thank God..."

* * *

><p>Dazz was just finishing piling up every piece of clothing and item he could need while traveling Hoenn when someone knocked on the door.<p>

"Coming!"

He shouted and ran down from his room upstairs to open the door.

He expected to see Ann but there was Steven Stone instead.

"Oh, hi Steven! What brings you here?"

He wondered out loud.

"Two reasons. The first, I need to know anything you can tell me about the man who attacked the gym. And the second, I brought you a present."

Dazz's eyes shone. Of course he heard only the second part.

"What is it?! Please tell me!"

"Calm down, first you have to tell me what I want to know, then you can have your present."

He said with a firm but happy voice. The teen started to think a bit and finally he nodded and began talking.

"Ok, I think you saw him so I don't have to describe his clothes. You also heard his weird voice and... Oh! I saw him before I challenged the gym and he was already here around. I don't know if this can help and... he said he was looking for a _Green Orb_. Does this help you?"

"Hmm... not really. Actually, I've already heard all of this. We just know so little about him..."

"Oh right! He said that his name was _Nil_."

"Well that's new. I doubt we'll find something but at least we know how to call him for now. Fine, let's get to your present..."

Steven tried not to think at how many secrets were crcling this _Nil_ and focused on Dazz.

He took a pokéball from his pocket and handed it to the boy.

"Congratulation for starting your pokémon journey and winning your first badge! I wanted to do it earlier but the attack kept me busy."

Dazz took the pokéball and Steven patted him on his head.

"You're giving me a pokémon? For real?"

"Yes, it is my favourite pokémon so have fun training him."

Dazz opened the ball and a metallic navy blue pokémon came out. It opened his red eye and looked at its new trainer.

"Wow it's so cool! I need to give it a name, is it male or female?"

"Beldums are genderless."

"What? But how do they... never mind, I think I'll just call you Bell. Do you like it?"

Dazz said looking at beldum's only eye. The pokémon just blinked and got back exploring the house.

"I guess it's not the emotional type... Just Bell will do."

Dazz recalled his newest pokémon and thanked Steven, who left right after.

* * *

><p>Ann's bag was ready two days before Dazz's and she had already bought the ferry ticket.<p>

She was planning to spend the day relaxing and watching TV, but Dazz called her after lunch nearly ordering her to reach him at the beach. So she dressed and left home. It wasn't a bad idea to do something after all. It's just that he could be a little more polite.

She walked pretty fast and reached the beach in less than ten minutes.

Ann checked how much did it take to get there during the walk. She was actually doing it everywhere she went trying to be every time a bit faster, just something she used to kill time while walking.

The moment she stepped on the beach she could spot Dazz not far from her with a blue pokémon flying around him.

"Dazz!"

The girl shouted to her friend happily. She removed her shoes and ran to him.

"What is this thing?"

Ann asked him pointing at the beldum.

"He's Bell, my new pokémon that Steven gave me. I should say _it's_ but, whatever."

She looked at the pokémon in amazement while it kept circling the boy.

"Wow it looks like he, sorry _it,_ can endure every kind of attack. I'm a bit envious, now you have two pokémon while I still have just one"

He grinned, that was expected.

"That's why I called you here! You always told me you liked wailmers and earlier I've seen one. But you'll have to catch it by yourself."

"Okay! Lead me!"

And with that, Dazz bolted followed by Ann to reach a spot where you could easily see a wailmer sleeping near some rocks in the water.

"Come on, this is your chance!"

Ann nodded and released her marill, Lucky. The wild Wailmer woke up and faced the girl and her pokémon stunned by the sudden noises.

"Lucky _Aqua Jet_ then come back to me."

The marill obeyed and launched himself in the water, hit his opponent and went back to Ann. The wailmer looked more angry than hurt and with some kind of _Water Gun _it spouted water straight to Lucky from its breather.

"My plan didn't work. Fine! _Strength_! Battle it in the water Lucky!"

The pokémon rushed in the water and engaged a _hand to hand _battle with the whale pokémon. It was hard to understand who had the upper hand but at some point Lucky came back to land panting.

His opponent shot a few _Water guns_ at him but missed him.

"It's tired I think you should catch it now."

Dazz told her. She flinched in horror.

"Wait, I don't have any pokeball! What should I do now!?"

she exclaimed but her friend was ready and gave her a pokéball.

"Thank! I owe you one."

She threw the pokéball and the wailmer was sucked inside. After a couple seconds the ball clicked and Ann sent Lucky to take the ball in the sea. She released him straightaway and petted it.

"It's a girl! I'll call her Waty!"

The girl announced. Waty was still a bit confused but didn't seem worried or scared.

"How do you know if it's male or female?"

"I just know it."

She recalled her pokèmon and the two teens left the beach. Ann went home while Dazz went to the port to buy his ticket. They planned to meet again at 5:30 pm in front of the ticket seller, this way they had enough time to say goodbye to their families and (just for Dazz) finish preparations.

* * *

><p>"I'm so happy you're going to start your own journey! Even if that means I'll be alone for some time."<p>

Dazz's mother told his son. He laid down his bag and stopped to regain his breath.

"I know I know, you told me like ten times now. I'm glad you're happy. Uff, I've yet to start and I'm already tired."

"You know if you didn't do everything last minute you'd have more time to rest, like Ann."

"Hey! You're not giving me any slack."

"Never mind. I love you Dazz, be safe but most of all have fun okay?"

"Sure I will!"

He grabbed every item he could and stacked the rest in his pockets, then he stopped for a moment.

There was a question he wanted to ask since he decided to leave Mossdeep and he wouldn't have another chance to ask it.

"Mom, is dad a trainer too? I mean, is there any chance I can meet him?"

The woman in front of him flinched but recomposed immediately. She caressed his Aquamarine hair and sighed.

"I don't know Dazz, probably. He liked to travel and when you want to travel as a job you have to train pokémon eventually."

"Don't worry I will. Love you mom, see you later."

Dazz left the house and his mom alone.

He reminded her of his father, especially the hair color. His father's were shorter but it's not every day that you see aquamarine hair.

One day she met him and after a week he left. He left more than nice memories behind though.

She looked for him when she found out she was pregnant and several other times years later, but she knew just his name and nothing else.

Dazz grew without knowing anything about his father but the name. He didn't really suffer for it. He never really thought about it that much, For Dazz things were that way. He never knew a different life and he was happy like this, so he never felt sad about it.

But now something lit in the boy. He was curious to know a bit about his own background, and the fact that it was an actual possibility made the boy wish for it to happen even more.

* * *

><p>"Finally! You took your time!"<p>

Ann exclaimed. Dazz tried to explain himself but in vain.

"Why do everyone always taunt me about being late?"

"Because you always are! Now let's get going, it leave in five minutes."

Ann said then entered the ferry. Dazz picked up his bag and turned to face Mossdeep, he wasn't going to see it again for some time.

He didn't have time to feel emotional because was struck by a brunette that caused both to fall.

"Ouch... Damn! I'm so damn sorry I thought I was going to miss the ferry!"

She said and helped the boy standing up.

"Oh don't worry, I lost myself in thought and couldn't see you. Are you all right?"

he said still stroking his head to alleviate the pain.

"Yeah I'm fine, but are you all right? You hit your head quite hard..."

He looked at her face for the first time and was struck again, this time by her eyes. They were a crystal light blue that reminded ice. The word that first come to his mind was _Dazzling_ that made him make a mind chuckle.

"Yeah... we should really go or we'll miss it for real."

He made her notice but she gave it little importance and fixed her eyes on Dazz's head.

"I think you've got yourself a bump. Listen, it's my fault and I'm sorry so I have to help you!"

Dazz opened the mouth to talk but she interrupted him before he could start speaking.

"No but! It's the right thing to do. At least that's what my mom would say."

She picked up Dazz's bag then took his hand and started walking to the ferry. Dazz didn't really want to bother her but at this point he couldn't avoid it so he calmed down and followed her.

"So, what's your name? I'm Amy by the way."

She tried to start a conversation.

They had just sat in front of a window inside the ferry, one in front of the other with a table between them. From there you could see all of Mossdeep and the Shoal Cave, where Dazz caught his first pokémon.

He smiled at the memory and shifted an ice bag on his head trying to feel more comfortable.

Dazz focused again on the girl in front of him.

"Ah right. I'm Dazz, nice too meet you Amy!"

"So, are you from Hoenn Dazz?"

"Ah sure I'm from Mossdeep, this is the first time I leave home."

"Really? Because I'm not. I come from Snowbelle city in Kalos."

"Kalos?! That's far! Did you come for a vacation?"

He almost jumped in his chair causing the ice bag to shift again, making him feel uneasy.

"More or less, I'm trying to start a training career. This and I wanted to go somewhere hot for a change."

"Ahaha nice! Then we have to battle sometime because I'm a trainer too! That's the reason why I left home after all."

Her eyes lightened up like she was waiting for it.

"Yes! We definitely have to! I've challenged Tate and Liza but I was missing something that time. I can't explain exactly what, but I felt like I had to battle because it was my job, while all I wanted was to have fun."

"Yeah, I think I get what you mean. You wanted something more competitive, like challenging a friend at some game."

She stood up and stretched a hand to Dazz.

"Come on I want to battle now!"

Dazz laid the ice bag on the table and stood up too.

"Wait, now? On this ferry? I don't think there's-"

"Come on follow me!"

She took his hand and dragged him on the upper deck

The sun was setting and the sky was tinted with different colors, orange prevailing. There were very few people here, an old couple, a mother with her daughter and a sailor with his wingull. The deck was fairly wide. In fact, there was enough room to have a battle.

"Here!"

Amy said taking a pokéball from her bag.

"You really want to fight?"

He asked her, but that was a rhetorical question because he was already taking out his own pokéball.

"Trainer Dazz, I challenge you to a pokémon battle!"

She throw her pokéball to the sky and the boy did the same.

From Amy's ball came out a Zorua and from Dazz's came out a Beldum, Bell.

"Bell _Take Down_!"

Bell flew to the Zorua _head_-first

"_Faint Attack_."

Before Bell could hit, Zorua disappeared and reappeared over it hitting hard with dark power.

"Damn! _Iron Head_!"

This time it could land the hit and deal some damage.

"Nice, let's see how do you cope with this,_ Foul Play_."

"_Iron Defense!_ please survive it Bell!"

The Zorua could hit without problem since Bell just stood and defended, but the steel pokémon was able to resist quite well.

"You're quite strong Bell but you know too little moves. Amy, I won't let you win this! _Take Down_!"

Without the two battlers noticing it, a crowd had appeared and a growing number of people were circling them. Some were even cheering for one pokémon or the other.

Bell was regaining some grounds landing some _Iron Head _and some_ Take Down, _but the Zorua managed to keep some distance between his and Bell's position. The fact that half of Zorua's attack were super effective on his opponent wasn't helping either.

"When did we attract all these people?"

Dazz asked the other trainer. Being the underdog, he gained more fan than Amy.

"Pokémon battles are always interesting to see! I'm a bit envious, you have more fan than me. I never wanted to win this much! Let's show them who's stronger! _Night Daze_!"

The Zorua stopped moving and focused on his enemy. He let out a loud cry and a pitch-black shock wave radiated from the pokémon.

People in the crowd stepped back to not get hit by it. Unluckily for Dazz, Bell wasn't fast enough and got struck by the dark energy fainting.

"That was incredible! There's no way Bell can stand again! You win this time."

The boy declared recalling his pokémon.

Right after the crowd divided in two, half surrounding Amy and half (even a bit more) Dazz. They congratulated for the battle, for training their pokémon well and some even played with their pokémon.

"Dazz! I looked for you everywhere! I thought you missed the ferry!"

A female voice shouted behind him. In that precise moment, Dazz's world fell down and he remembered something: where was Ann?

"Oh hey Ann! I, ehm, had a small accident and..."

He tried to explain

"So you had a battle? Seems reasonable to me. You just forgot about me!"

She grunted and left for the lower decks

"Wait Ann!"

Dazz freed himself from the crowd and followed his friend, on the other side of the deck Amy saw the scene and followed them too.

"Waaaait come on! Listen to me at least!"

Dazz almost tripped over climbing down the stairs but at least he could reach the girl.

"Why would I? You just forgot about me like that, am I worthless to you?"

Dazz mentally cursed himself for forgetting, but also for having a best friend that was angry with him half of the time.

"Ok ok, you're right. It's just that a lot of thing happened and I couldn't think clearly for a bit. I hit my head quite hard and I also got a bump, right here, see?"

He said pointing at his head were he thought the bump should be.

"There's no bump on your head."

"Dazz wait!"

A girl rushed down the stairs jumping at the last step and landing behind the two teens. They both turned in her direction and she crouched panting a bit to regain breath.

"Whew, you stopped, I don't think I could run any longer. Is she a friend of yours? Oh! Your bump has completely disappeared! The ice bag worked!"

Ann looked at Amy and grimaced.

"Now I know why you couldn't think clearly. I'm Out."

She left again walking in a random direction. Dazz sighed and faced Amy again.

"Sorry you had to see this. She's not really angry, she does it at least once a day. This time she's right though... I kind of forgot about her."

"Don't worry, let's get her and explain what happened."

"Oh no, she'll calm down by herself..."

"What?! You want to leave her like this? No way! We're getting her now!"

She took his hand and dragged him. Dazz couldn't help but think that it was becoming a habit.

* * *

><p>After looking for her for about fifteen minutes they found Ann on the upper deck. She was sitting beside the fence looking at the sky that at this point was between blue and black. The sun already set and there were no clouds so you could see the stars quite well.<p>

"Hey..."

Dazz and Amy approached the girl.

This time Amy explained what happened. Ann listened till the end wihout pronouncing a word. She was still angry but the worst was gone, at least Dazz hoped.

They spent the rest of the trip doing small chats and knowing each other a bit better. Ann was the youngest being fifteen and Amy was the oldest being seventeen while Dazz was in the middle being sixteen.

Also, Ann was somewhat shocked when she heard that the other girl was from Kalos. She couldn't say she liked this new friend of Dazz but at least the hate she felt when she met her on the lower deck had decreased a bit.

"Ann, are you a trainer too?"

Amy asked her hoping for another challenge.

"No. You hoped to smash someone else on the battlefield?"

"No, no, I was just curious about your goal in this journey. It's pretty pointless to just travel withouth an aim."

"Having fun can be a goal too! Besides, I think you would lose against me in a pokémon battle, I think you would have lost against Dazz too if it wasn't for your pokemon type."

"Dazz was quite good but I don't know much about you being a trainer, you don't really resemble one that much."

Dazz shivered. He feared they would put him in the middle of their conversation expecting him to take a side. That would have been terrible for him.

"Oh right! Dazz I've thought about it for awhile now, there's something I want to ask you..."

Ann and Dazz looked at her, Dazz with a confused look, Ann with a terrified one. Then, Amy continued.

"Since we're both trainers, and we've both won just the Mind Badge, I think we can make it a challenge, to see who's the best trainer between you and me."

Dazz grinned, he liked this idea. Things could be way more funny this way.

He stood up and held out a hand to her, she mimicked him and they shook hands.

"You won this time, but the next I'll be so strong I won't let you land a single hit!"

They sat back and talked a bit more, then they both exchanged PokéNav's numbers.

"I can see Lilycove already, I think our trip together's finished. It was nice to meet you Dazz, and Ann."

"Yeah it was nice for me too, most of the time."

Ann replied to the brunette.

Dazz felt a bit bad because they had to part already but happy because he knew they would meet again. His journey wasn't even started and he had already met his rival, and the day still had to end!

"Yeah, next time!"

Amy waved them off and climbed down the stairs leaving Ann and Dazz alone.

"She was nice wasn't she?"

The boy asked his friend.

"Umph!"

Ann slapped him and stood up, then she climbed down the stairs. Dazz sighed stroking his cheeks to stop the pain and followed her to apologize for the third time that day. This time though, he didn't know the reason.

* * *

><p>Steven was in front of the contest hall in Lilycove. It was pretty dark and he wondered why he had to come this late. Not far, he spotted a boy and a girl coming in his direction chatting happily.<p>

The boy wore black shorts and a red and black jacket.

His most noticeable detail was his hat: it was a long white beanie fixed on his head by a black bandana with a red pokéball symbol. On his back was a green backpack.

With him was a girl same age, wearing a red sleeveless t-shirt and black and white shorts. Her hair divided in two tails that some way managed to stay straight. She also had a red ribbon with two white stripes on her head.

They noticed Steven and waved a hand.

"Hey Steven, how long!"

The girl was the first one to talk. She made a short run and hugged him.

"I'm fine May. I heard you're competing tonight."

"Yep, Lisia will compete as well, I couldn't miss such a chance."

"I'm sure you'll win! And Brendan, you finally threw that stinking old green bandana. It's a bit weird seeing you without it."

Brendan smirked.

"I did it just because May forced me. Did you come just to mess with me, Hoenn champion?"

Steven laughed at the question.

"You know if you really want to mock me about this you have to take your place at Ever Grande."

The boy twisted his mouth in disgust. The older man laughed at his antics.

Brendan never took the champion place because he thought it was too boring. Instead, Steven had to ask Wallace to replace him, and had to fill a long pile of papers. In fact, Brendan caused a ruckus deciding to refuse the champion title.

"May don't wait for us, old man and I need to talk."

she snorted and opened the door.

"You guys are so boring..."

That said, she entered the Hall.

The two guys faced each other and shifted to a more serious face. It was obvious what the next topic would be.

"Are we in danger?"

The real Hoenn champion asked. Steven rested his head on the palm of his hand and made an annoyed face.

"I don't know yet, maybe not. It's just a man after all."

Brendan looked rather confused. A man attacking a gym was surely a problem but he thought Steven called him to talk about something more... powerful.

Truth is that the Johto boy liked to solve problem. He liked to be the hero that saved Hoenn and he hoped for anoher chance to be in the spotlight. Five years earlier fame got a bit on his head and now that he wasn't making news anymore he felt like his life missed something.

"Why did you call me then? I mean, you could've easily solved the problem yourself."

"He said he was looking for the _Green Orb_. I couldn't ignore it, what if he told somebody else?"

Every thought he had before vanished. He remembered all the events that brought him were he was, especially the fight between Groudon and Kyogre in Sootopolis, he thought the world was going to end.

"I see now, thanks for telling me first. What do we know about this person?"

"Almost nothing. He call himself Nil, use something to hide his true voice, dress in a way that avoid showing **any **part of his body... Wait, I have a drawing. A trainer from Mossdeep did it and I think it's quite accurate."

He handed the other trainer a paper sheet with a drawing of Nil. The boy memorized every particular of what he saw.

"Somebody knowing about the Green Orb means that there is a spy at Devon, or at least there was. Don't worry Steven, I won't let anyone relieve **those** days!"

His eyes were flaming with suppressed anger. Steven could swear that they were watering. He put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"I know you will."

He calmed down and got back to his cheerful attitude like nothing happened.

"Let's deal with this later. Come on in, May's contest going to start!"

"Oh no, I can't stay this time, work to do. Tell May I said her good luck!"

"That's a pity but okay, see you later rusty champion."

Brendan said and walked in the Hall.

The man chuckled and released his skarmory. Rusty. He thought he was still in a good shape, and maybe, he could win in a rematch against him.

Maybe.

He had bigger problem right now. With his serious face back on, Steven Stone left Lilycove.

* * *

><p><strong>I'd like to thank my first reviewer and my first fav for supporting me! It's nice to know that someone likes your work :D Hope you like this chapter as well!<strong>


	3. Lilycove

**-LILYCOVE-**

It was rather late in the afternoon, sun already set and the sky was dark blue now going to black.

Lilycove was once a lively city in which you could find people in the streets at every hour of the day. Talking about nightlife, of course there was always something to do.

There was also the city port. People weren't dancing or having fun there, just working.

Things changed a bit after the Weather Crisis.

The political system was renewed: The region was ruled by the Pokémon Association but the Champion and the Elite Four, along with Gym Leaders, always had a saying in most matters. That's the only reason why Brendan could enter the Cave of Origin in the first place, thus saving Hoenn.

The Pokémon Association later decided that someone having such power just because of physical strenght (that of the pokémon of course) wasn't a good idea and could cause problem later on.

The majority of the population agreed to this change and even the concerned trainers thought it was right, especially after the Kanto episode in which some gym leaders joined Team Rocket with one of them actually being the boss of the whole organization.

This seemed to work for some time, but the heads of the Association slowly started to act in their own interest. Without people to question their decisions, they could do as they will.

They started to get more and more information about citizens' personal lives to find out all the team Magma and Aqua grunts still free and people let them do.

Then, in some city specific curfews were imposed, laws that cut personal freedom were approved and taxes were raised. City without gym leaders suffered more. The population had endured all of this for the sake of being safe, but everyday the situation was getting heavier.

Somewhere in the port town, two men were collecting their things before leaving to go home.

One of the two, whose name was Sean,stopped at the sight of something on the ground and picked up a crumpled newspaper. It was cut in different places but you could still read it.

"New politic party! Is the scene going to change?"

His workmate, who was called Adam, turned in his direction and stretched his head to see what he was talking about.

"Freedom for everyone in Hoenn..." He read out loud. A small and cold chuckle followed.

"Are these some Team Plasma fans? Anyway, I think this newspaper won't survive for long, at least not if they keep writing this crap."

Adam said, the other man sighed and trashed the paper, then the two set out for their houses.

Sean directed his attention to his friend.

"I've bought a permit to let my daughter see master contests tonight. I feel a bit bad knowing that our sons won't have a childhood like ours, all of these rules to follow... "

"Yeah and I think they will only increase in number. "

Adam spitted on the street's corner which earned him an insult from Sean.

"God, you're so annoying some times."

he spitted again just to annoy his friend then looked at his wristwatch.

"Damn I'm late, see you tomorrow!"

He waved Sean off and started running.

The man chuckled and sped up a little, getting caught after the curfew means a high fine, not that he had to worry about it, that night he had two permits. Still, he didn't want to get late for the contest and upset his daughter.

* * *

><p>Dazz and Ann were in a line right outside the Lilycove Ferry Agency. You could easily say just by looking at his face that Dazz hated to queue. Unlike him, Ann was rather quiet.<p>

"I don't get why there should be a curfew in a city as big as Lilycove, why do we need a permit anyway? We can reach a hotel in five minutes from here!"

Ann played with her fingers a bit before turning to Dazz. She blushed a bit and he noticed it.

"What's the matter?"

He asked her making the blush intesify.

"Weeeeeeell..." Ann started. The Boy knew this was going to be bad for him.

"While you were **battling**..." she glared at him for a moment and continued.

"...I looked for things to do in Lilycove on my PokéNav and I found out that there's a Master Contest competition tonight."

He looked at her waiting for the rest of the sentence.

"And?"

"Aaaand I wanted to go. Pleeeeease..."

The girl linked hands and looked at him with the cutest expression she could make. He just wanted to rest and didn't care in the slightest about pokémon contests but she was already angry with him for the Amy thing and he didn't want to upset her even more.

Dazz sighed in defeat.

"Fine, it can be interesting, I hope."

Ann made a jump out of joy and hugged him.

She liked contests quite a lot, mostly thanks to her father that got her into them.

Since when she was a kid, Ann followed contests on TV, but could never see one live or partecipate in one because the only Hall in Mossdeep is quite small and there are very few people attending it.

"Don't worry it will! About the permit, Lilycove and Slateport are the only two city in Hoenn that have a curfew. so you can survive."

Ann talked about contests during the time they were in line, the trainer seemed uninterested as he scanned Lilycove's map to find somewhere to eat and the Pokémon Center location. She groaned and stopped talking until they reached the clerk.

They payed and got a plasticized ticket.

"Can we buy ticket for the masters contest here?"

Ann asked the man in front of her.

"No, sorry. You have to buy them there."

She thanked and the two teens left to get something to eat.

Dazz wondered where Amy could be.

* * *

><p>"So this is a Contest Hall? It looks different from the one in Mossdeep."<p>

Dazz and Ann were in front of the huge red building. Ann was clearly overexcited while Dazz was just a bit curious.

Rivers of people flowed inside rushing to buy a ticket. Some took photos, others stopped to read the posters hanging on the wall, there were several of them.

-May and Lisia's big challenge at Lilycove!-

Dazz didn't know any of the two girls but was kind of stunned by the hair color of the one on the right.

It was nice to know he wasn't the only one with unique hair.

"Come on Dazz, they will take every ticket!"

Ann yelled forcing the boy to follow her.

They entered and went to the counter, Ann readily bought two tickets and dragged her friend to the main hall.

"Aren't you excited! I'm super excited!"

Dazz nodded lifelessly and seated hoping this wouldn't take much.

A man and a young girl walked next to them squashing the poor boy.

"Sorry..."

The man apologized before releasing Dazz from the grip.

"It's nothing."

He said a bit annoyed. The lights turned off everywhere but the stage where there was a girl with in a red suit with short red hair and a mike in her left hand.

"Good evening Lilycove!" she shouted earning cheers and applauses.

"Tonight you'll see the Master Beauty Contest! We're not going to waste time, so I introduce you all to our first contestant, May Birch from Littleroot!"

Lights turned on, on the left side of the stage lightening up May.

The crowd exploded in shouts and cheers as the girl bowed in her pink dress. Ann was screaming too and Dazz noticed it rolling his eyes.

"Next coordinator is Alice Young from Verdanturf!"

Cheers came for her too but it was a bit embarrassing after May's fanbase.

"From Slateport, enter Jonathan Blue!"

the announcer said with the same enthusiasm as ever.

The coordinator suffered the same fate as the girl before him.

"And now, our last participant, coming from Sootopolis, the Master coordinator from the last three years... Lisia Rain!"

The Hall exploded in people's shouts while the blue-haired girl walked on the stage waving to her fans.

Alice and Jonathan were clearly under a heavy pressure, it was like they didn't exist at all near the other two competitors.

From the opposite sides of the stage May and Lisia glared at each other before calling out their pokémon along with the other two coordinators.

In this order the pokémon were Blaziken, Grumpig, Lucario and Altaria.

Blaziken and Altaria glared at each other the same way their trainer did.

"And now, our judges will vote whose pokémon looks the most beautiful! You can vote too! Pressing one of the buttons from 1 to 4 on the side of your seats!"

The girl in red said to the audience. Dazz randomly pressed a number and focused back to the show.

There was a long table in front of the stage with four people, the judges, voting as well...

"Looks like the results are here!"

The girl said taking an envelope from an elegant man, that left right after.

She opened it, made a pirouette and spoke again...

"with 89 points, Alice's Piggy! 95 points Jonathan's Luca! And... we've got a draw! Both with 102 points, May's Blaze and Lisia's Ali!"

Ann grunted a bit, Dazz wondered who she was rooting for.

"Let's move to the actual thing! I can feel the coordinators' wills to win this Contest. Everyone, do your best!"

The announcer moved where the judges were, sitting right in the middle of the table. She made a funny looking scene in which she joked about some judge hairstyle. The public laughed to it and she announced the first turn was beginning.

May positioned herself in the middle of the stage with her _Blaze._

"_Flare Blit_z."

She chanted. The blaziken covered itself with fire and burned for few seconds before releasing a red light from its body that expanded trough air. Applause followed them, they bowed but Blaziken was visibly tired.

Next came Lisia and ordered a _Draco Meteor_, Dazz dozed off at this point.

* * *

><p>"Yes! That was awesome!"<p>

Ann scream woke up Dazz abruptly. It took him some seconds to remind where he was. He noticed in horror that the contest was still ongoing.

"Can you believe it?! They're both going to mega evolve! This is so cool!"

Ann told to her friend that looked at the stage. A Blaziken and an Altaria were facing each other. They both cloaked themselves in a pink sphere made of light that covered them, then the spheres exploded revealing the two pokémon physically changed.

Dazz's eyes widened in awe, this was the first time he saw a mega evolution.

The last turn of the contest went pretty smooth. The four contestants ordered their pokémon to use their best moves and the crowd went crazy.

After it, the four of them bowed and stepped back in a line.

"Well ladies and gentlemen that's it! Now let's leave the final judgment to the experts while we all pray for our favourite coordinator to win!"

A drum roll started and every other noise stopped while the judges worked on some paper sheets.

The elegant man from before gave the announcer another envelope. The girl thanked, opened the envelope and made a pirouette.

"Fourth place..." Drum roll intensifies. " Alice Young! Good job Alice, better luck next time!"

The audience applauded and Alice left the stage after bowing.

The scene repeated for the third place that went to Jonathan and his _Luca._

"We reached the final stage of tonight's competition, you all waited for this, I know!"

She stopped to regain breath since she was yelling since the start of the contest.

"May against Lisia, who wins?"

The red-head girl, that Dazz believed to be crazy, or under drugs, threw the envelope and shouted:

"LISIA!"

Dazz was sure now, she was on drugs.

* * *

><p>After the end of the show, Ann insisted to talk to one of the coordinators. Dazz <strong>had<strong> to agree and they left to find her. Along the way they saw a girl in a red suit laying in an armchair staring at the ceiling with her mouth slightly open. Dazz shivered.

He thought that they would have to take on a long line but Ann pointed at a lone girl with a green bandana. She looked tired and was talking with a boy around her age. There was no fan in sight. Dazz thanked Arceus.

"Hi! I'mAnnandI'mabigfanofyouandyourBlaziken!"

Ann said to May in less than a second. May stopped talking with the boy and turned to the girl.

"Sorry, what?"

She was playing with her fingers and wasn't looking at her straight.

"I-I'm Ann and I'm your fan."

May's expression changed into a smile, and she shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you Ann! Did you like tonight's contest?"

Ann nodded and looked at her idol happily. Dazz was shocked, he didn't know she was **so much** into contest.

"Yes. I wanted to ask you something..."

"What is it?"

"What should I do to be a coordinator?"

May sighed, her expression saddened.

"Shouldn't you ask Lisia? She won after all..."

Ann's eyes were filled with determination.

"But I think you should have won!"

May was surprised, in a good way.

"Brendan, leave us alone for a minute, We'll reach you outside."

"Dazz, wait for me outside!"

The boys had no choice and left.

A man came and asked them for their permit, they showed him and he left.

Brendan thought he had no best to do and decided to talk with the other boy.

"So, I guess you're not the contest type right?"

Dazz was bored to hell and appreciated what Brendan was trying to do.

"Yeah, I'm more of a battle guy."

Brendan's eyes shone.

"Really? I'm a trainer too, maybe you already know me..."

The water-green haired boy looked at him and thought for a bit.

"Hmm, no. Nothing comes to mind, sorry."

The champion couldn't believe it.

"Ok, maybe coordinators gets more famous than trainers, but you should probably recognize me without the hat."

He took off his signature white beanie and waited for a response but it didn't come.

"Sorry, nothing."

Without knowing it, Dazz had hit Brendan's ego preety hard.

"Oh come on, I'm Brendan, the Hoenn champion! Did you ever watch TV? Or read a newspaper or whatever!?"

Dazz finally remembered something. The champion sighed.

"Oh, yeah I remember now!"

An awkward silence reigned for some seconds.

"So... are you and May together?"

It took him off guard, but Brendan didn't want that awkward silence anymore.

"Yes kind of but don't say it around it would screw us with fans. You and your friend?"

Now Dazz was kind of embarrassed.

"No, we're just friend."

"You know, you look a lot like a friend of mine, you two have the same hair colour."

The two feared the silence was coming back but luckily Ann and May got out of the building.

They stood up immediately and went to the girls.

"Dazz guess what! May will be my master and teach me!"

He knew what this meant, she'll have to travel on her own soon.

He smiled trying his best not to be sad.

"That's awesome Ann!"

Ann was really happy and hugged her friend, she was a bit sad because she would have to part with him, but now her journey had a goal.

May yawned and Brendan smiled at the sight.

"Well I need to take this girl home or else she'll fall asleep here. You can see each other later!"

May nodded and they both left after saying goodbye.

Dazz and Ann left too.

* * *

><p>The morning later Ann woke up quite early. They had slept in the Lilycove Pokémon Center that was rather busy that day.<p>

"Dazz..."

The boy twisted in the bed, trying to stay asleep. Ann wasn't going to give up so soon, but she knew him, and he wouldn't wake up after being just called by name.

The girl left the room and went to the center's counter where Nurse Joy was already awake.

Ann checked her PokéNav, 6:00. Nurse Joy was staring in the air in front of her.

Creepy. She wondered if she/they ever sleep.

She asked for a plastic bottle and went back to her room, she filled it with tap water and drenched Dazz. He didn't wake up screaming as she hoped.

Instead he just opened his eyes and shifted his head to see her better.

"Sorry, I tripped over."

He eyed her trying to understand if she was lying. Having just woke up he was still fighting to remain conscious and decided to give up.

"Hell..."

He muttered standing up. He removed his wet pajama and tossed it to the side.

"Mind if I have a shower first?"

Ann nodded and turned slightly embarassed. Why did she water him?

He entered the shower.

"Why did we wake up so early? It's not even seven!"

he asked her from the bathroom.

"Being a trainer means waking up early every day to train your pokémon!"

Dazz was going to reply but rembered something that happened yesterday. He had to ask her a question.

"Ann, you really want to be a coordinator?"

She heard him a bit distant but she thought it was due to the closed door.

"Yes, I thought I told you yesterday."

"Yeah, I know. This means that you'll have to travel on your own now?"

Ann sighed, she knew this question was coming sooner or later.

"Yes, I'm sorry Dazz..."

He could feel that she sounded guilty, and he didn't want this.

"Don't worry, it's okay. Let's go see Lilycove together before we have to part!"

She smiled and shouted an _okay_ in response, she knew he could understand her and was happy that he asked her to leave Mossdeep with him (even if he get her angry half of the time).

They both got ready and after taking teir belongings in the room, they left.

They spent the first hours of the day having breakfast, touring the port area and the beach and buying a map of the wrong city, before buying the right one.

Both the teens had a lot of fun, maybe because they were going to take different routes soon and they wanted to enjoy the time together.

She always led the way and found new places to see. He followed her happily and took some photos. They even played beach volley with some kids they met.

Ann took the map and scanned it. Contest Hall, Port, Lighthouse, Art Museum, Department Store... They haven't seen the Department Store yet!

"Dazz, follow me!"

They bolted through streets and people laughing everytime somebody cursed at them.

Ann smile faded and was replaced by curiosity.

"What's happening?"

Dazz noticed it last. There was a crowd of people in front of the store, some held posters, some shouted.

It was a protest.

He was interested now, what could that be about? He couldn't hear clearly every word but he was sure he heard the world freedom. The first thought that came to mind was Team Plasma.

They didn't talk about pokémon though, it must be something different.

He got closer to hear better. A man in the middle with a megaphone was speaking loudly. He was dressed quite elegant, with a blue suit and a blue tie. He had short brown hair and was quite tall.

"At this rate, the Pokémon association will take more and more of our rights until Hoenn becomes a dictatorship. We're tired of curfews, Team Magma and Aqua are gone now!"

By that moment, quite the crowd was assisting at the scene, mixing people that wanted to go to the store and people that was just there to listen. Policemen were starting to gather too.

"In the name of the Liberation Party that I, Elef represent, I ask you to join our cause and get back liberty in Hoenn."

Three policemen stepped in front of them followed by two Bisharp and a Lucario. The one in the middle spoke first.

"You have all the rights to demonstrate but you can't block the entrance to the store! Move and go protest somewhere else."

Elef knew this was going to happen but he was ready, he took the megaphone and stared at the three pridefully.

"We won't move until people understand the situation and decide to act! You see? They're trying to make us give up our beliefs! Even now they're trying to put us in an invisible cage!"

He talked too much in Dazz's opinion but he was never really concerned in politics to know if what he was telling was true. The policeman made a gesture to Lucario that started charging blue energy in its palms.

"If you don't move now, we'll have to force you."

Elef seemed worried for a second but opened his arms as to cover the other protestants that were starting to worry as well.

"Do as you wish, we're ready to fight until the end."

Overly dramatic.

Dazz felt that Ann was a bit scared and reassured her. He chuckled, they weren't going to attack anyway.

"Very well."

And they were going to attack.

Dazz's face dropped as the Lucario released the blue energy sphere in the store's direction, there were many gasps among people. And there were even more when a transparent wall which dimension was big enough to cover all of the protestants stopped the attack.

Dazz trembled in fear when he saw a Mime Jr. in front of them. There was no way he could mistake it, that was _Nil_'s Mime. It disappeared using _Teleport._

Elef was shocked as well but didn't waste time and released a Mightyena, his helpers called out their own pokémon.

Others policemen came.

"We're not going down without a fight!"

Elef said. People understood too well what was going to happen and the crowd dispersed running in different directions.

Dazz took Ann for an arm and run to the Pokémon Center. He didn't left her until they got there, and even then he was still holding her tightly.

"You can let me go now!"

Dazz realized how tight he was holding her and left.

"Sorry. Ann, promise me to not move from here until I get back!"

He shouted. She was clearly scared but he couldn't help her now. He felt sorry for her because leaving her alone would worry her, but he had to do what he had thought five minutes earlier.

"Call May and ask her boyfriend to help people in front of the Store."

She nodded.

"O-Ok, but where are you going?"

He sighed, a lie was a bad thing but it was better than worry her to the point she passes out.

"Don't worry I'm not going in that mess again. Just trust me okay?"

She nodded again, his lie went through.

The boy made a mad dash to the store. He got there taking half of the time he took to run away.

The place was even messier now.

People that were protesting were fighting against police in a violent pokémon battle without rules. It wouldn't have been strange to find out someone got hurt, or worse...

He hoped Brendan would come and help soon, but the Mossdeep boy didn't get back to join the fight.

No, he was looking for somebody with a specific psychic pokémon. He was sure Nil was somewhere near, but in front of the store there was no trace of him.

He ran away heading South first and then West to route 121. If he was correct, Nil was trying to escape from Lilycove.

He was right.

Nil was walking at a quiet pace followed by his Mime Jr.

"STOP!"

Dazz shouted getting out both his pokémon.

The masked man stopped and turned to face him

"_Oh, the kid from Mossdeep. Did you come to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong?"_

His metallic voice echoed.

They were alone in that street, what if they had to fight? Would Dazz stand a chance?

"You're implied with this mess are you?"

Nil emitted a weird sound, Dazz could swear it was a laugh.

"_I just appreciated what they were trying to do and I helped."_

Dazz was fuming in rage, he couldn't care if his pokémon weren't strong enough. If his pokémon were going to lose, he was going to fight bare hands.

"It was you who instigated them to rebel. You just want to make caos! What's your damn aim?"

"_I want to free people from the cage they put themselves in"_

Dazz gritted his teeth, he hated when he tried to sound philosophical.

"_I don't have time to make you play the hero, sorry."_

Nil freed his salamence from its pokéball and climbed on it. Mime Jr. was having some problem jumping that high so he recalled him, and finally, took flight.

If he was stronger... how could he take on a probably full team of six trained pokémon with a Spheal and a Beldum?

"HEY YOU! GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR POKEMON AND MONEY!"

Dazz turned to see a man with a liepard. He was full of scratches and was holding a knife.

"What?!"

He exclaimed surprised.

The man coughed loudly and spitted on the ground.

"Anarchy has come to Lilycove kid!"

Dazz got in a fighting stance. This man didn't seem a strong trainer maybe he could get out of this situation unharmed.

A Banette fell from the sky slashing the man mid-air. He fell on the grond groanng in pain

He grinned.

"Ghost against dark, not good!"

"_Dazzling Gleam!_"

The Banette shot a pink ray to the Liepard knocking him cold.

A boy with a white beanie jumped down from a Swellow.

"Dazz right? Go take shelter in the Pokèmon Center until the situation calm down."

"But Nil went that way!"

Brendan cursed himself, and dialed a number on his PokéNav. The delinquent took his chance and ran away.

"...ok Steven, warn Winona, I'll get there as soon as I solve this thing."

he focused back on Dazz.

"Thanks Dazz, now get in the pokemon center and stay there please. Here, take my number."

He registered himself in Dazz's pokégear.

"If you have any problem call me."

He wanted to chase Nil but couldn't leave Ann alone and worried to Hell. He nodded to Brendan and rushed to the Pokémon Center.

Brendan patted the Banette.

"We have to stop evil again Ban. Ah, I missed this feeling so much!"

they hopped on his swellow and flew to the store.

* * *

><p>Ann has never been so happy to see Dazz like when he got back to her that day. She rushed to hug him fearing that there wouldn't be a <em>next time<em>. He comforted her but he himself was worried about Nil.

The aquamarine boy was sure it was all **his** fault. He feared thinking at what that madman's mind was planning.

The first time he saw him, he believed this was a story that would end quickly, with Nil caught and a short report on the News.

How was he wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>Here's Dazz third chapter! Thanks to my anonymous reviewer, you keep me going! Hope you all like this new chapter!<strong>

**~Comisure**


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